Laurel Ann Lawless thought that her life in New York City was a good one–she had an enjoyable job with a professional fund raising company and her romance with her boss looked like it might be moving toward the altar. In a very twenty-first century plot twist, her world is turned upside down when federal authorities accuse her boss of funneling money to foreign terrorist organizations. Suddenly Laurel has no paycheck, the boss doesn’t return her calls, and she is hounded by the media. Laurel’s wise roommate, Peg, suggests that this might be a good time for Laurel to look at the land in Tyrrell County that Laurel inherited from her father. North Carolina is a whole new world filled with a rich natural environment, different values, and lots of relatives. To support herself, she takes a retail job on the Outer Banks and moves into an inexpensive rental that a cousin finds for her. After her relationship with her handsome landlord, Cody, starts to heat up, Laurel thinks that she just might stay in North Carolina.